Meet the latest entry to the Dartford and Gravesham Business Awards...

For 14 years, Bluebell Physiotherapy, at Gravesend and Meopham, has been offering corporate and private patients fast access to quality physiotherapy treatment, rehabilitation and injury solutions. This means they avoid long NHS waiting lists.

A flexible appointment time is also offered so there is no need to have time off work – and catching a problem early rather than waiting for your name to go up an NHS list can mean much less sick leave.

The clinic is known for the time taken to listen to patients and does not have a ‘one size fits all’ policy. There is also a 24-hour phone and booking service.

Founded by Melanie Poynter, Bluebell Physiotherapy was awarded a £1,000 business development grant in March 2012 to assist with training and is listed for a Growth Accelerator business development programme.

This has helped the business expand to seven locations .

Aside from the two largest clinics, in Gravesend and Meopham, there are satellites in Rochester, Sittingbourne and Larkfield. A new centre is opening soon in Faversham and a further one planned for Dartford. Additional staff were taken on and significant new investment made in the clinics’ IT infrastructure.

Melanie also regularly meets local GPs and attends industry meetings and seminars to stay abreast of changes in the NHS and how these will impact private practitioners.

She said: “An important example of this is the new Any Qualified Provider (AQP) government initiative where physiotherapy service provision for NHS patients can be tendered for by private companies. Bluebell has recently passed the necessary quality audits and been accepted to be able to provide this new service.”